Feeler-motion for looms.



A. E. RHOADES.

FEELER MOTION FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. e. 1918.

JL,%94,53 Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

40 Q 22 as \8 \nvehtor. 'Aloljgo E.Rh0ades n are nnr no ALONZO E. BHOADES, 0F HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 DRAIPER CORPO- MTION, 0E HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FEELER-MOTION FOR LO0M$.

To all whom it may concern: a

Be it hown that l, ALoNzo E. RHoADns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hopedale, county of Worcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Feeler-Motions for Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts;

This inventlon is concerned with the soi called feeler motion for automatic looms.

Such a motion is utilized to ascertain the substantial exhaustion of the filling on the filling carrier in the active shuttle of the loom and when such a substantial exhaustion has taken place then to initiate a change in the operation of the loom, usually the automatic replenishment of the filling by substitution of a fresh filling carrier for I thesubstantially exhausted filling carrier.

is. due to the lifting or tipping In order that the wastage of filling may be as small as possible it is obviously desirable that the feeler motion shall initiate the operation of filling replenishment when there is just suficient filling left on the running filling carrier to enable the filling carrier to lay a full'pick in the shed upon the last pick of the shuttle preceding replenishment. It is necessary,' therefore, that the feeler motion should be actuated in a most accurate manner and should he able to respond to any usual position which the filling are several variations of position which may not infrequently take place. The shuttle when honed opposite the feeler .may a sumo a position slightl above the race plate and thus present the g carrier slightly above the normal feeling position. 'lhisfi o the shuttle in the shock and yer consequent tothe boxing of the shuttle. Again Specification of Letters Patent.

the filling carrier itself may he positioned at a slight angle to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle. In the automatic loom the filling carrier is usually held by clamp Patented lFeh. l8, 191th Application filed March 6, 1918. Serial No. 220,681.

ing devices gripping the butt of the filling 4 carrier and if the filling carrier when positioned in these clamping devices is not positloned with great accuracy it may assume the undersirable angular position.

The present invention; is embodied in a feeler motion in which a feeling instrumentality is of the type having a penetrating point which at each beat up enters the mass of filling without effect until the mass of filling is exhausted to the predetermined do gree when the penetrating point coming into contact with the hard surface of the filling carrier itself thereupon acts to efieet initiation of the weft replenishing operation.

The. present invention presents a feeler in which a plurality of these penetrating points are arranged in two horizontal rows tilt ill

so that notwithstanding a variation in the vertical position of the filling carrier one or the other of the penetrating points will come into cotiperative relation therewith and these penetrating points are further spaced laterally to a suficient extent so that notwithstanding any reasonable angular mispositioning oi the filling carrier one or the other of the penetrating points will also come into efiective coperation with the filling carrier so that irrespective of the precise angular or vertical position of the filling carrier with respect to the feeler one or more of the penetrating points will engage the surface of the filling carrier upon suhstantial exhaustion of filling and act to effect the initiation oifilling replenishment lhese and other objects of the invention will appear more fully from the accompanying description and drawings and will he particularly pointed out in the claims.

' The drawings represent so much of the well known type of Northrop automatic filling replenishing loom as is necessary to a disclosure of the present invention.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of the loom with the central portion broken away and showing a feeler motion of preferredconstruction embodying this inven tion;

Elli

1 and 2 supports at the front the breast beam 3. The lay 4 swings toward and from the breast beam in the usual manner and carries at each end the shuttle boxes 5 and 6 respectively.

At the transfer end of the loom the usual hopper or feeder 7 is mounted from the breast beam and carries the supply of fresh 'fillingcarriers which upon the replenishing action taking place are successively transferred to the shuttle then boxed beneath the hopper. This replenishing action is usually 0 erated from a starter rod or shaft 8 runnlng along the front of the loom. A latch 9 is so connected to the starter rod that when the latch is pushed forwardly it rocks the rod 8 and sets into operation the filling replenishing mechanism.

The usual weft fork 10 which acts to stop theloom or effect weft replenishment upon the absence or failure of the filling in the shed is shown and in connection therewith the. usual weft hammer 11 which constitutes a vibrating actuator rocked or vibrated from the mechanism of the loom in a well known and familiar manner. It will thus beseen that if the latch 9 be lifted into the path of the weft hammer 11 the weft hammer will act to push the latch back rocking the starting rod 8 and so effecting filling replenishment. The feeler motion here shown as an embodiment of the invention acts through a well known type of mechanism to raise this latch 9 into the path of the weft hammer 11 upon indication of substantial exhaustion of filling in the active filling carrier.

The feeler motion as shown comprises a two-part box-like stand 12 .the parts being secured together by the screws 13. This stand is held in properly adjusted position on the breast beam by set screws 14 passing through the longitudinal slot 15 into the breast beam.

This stand carries longitudinally. sliding therein the feeler slide 16 which in general shape is a long flat metal plate the end por-v tion .17 of which is narrower than the forward portion. A helical spring 18 surrounds the narrow portion .17 abutting at its rear end against the forward end of the wider portion and abutting at its' front end eeaesa against the interior of "the stand 12 so that this spring normally acts to maintain the feeler slide in rearward projected position. The limit of rearward projection of the slide is adjustably determined by a set screw 1.9 passing through a bracket 2(3- arising from the feeler slide and abutting a vertical arch 21 on the feeler stand.

At its rear end the feeler slide terminates in a box-like casing formed by a cover plate 22 flanged at its side and secured by pins 23 and set screws 24 to the body of the slide 16. The rear end of this casing presents an impinging face 25 which is adapted to contact with the filling on the filling carrier.

In the rear of the casing 22 the filling slide carries mounted rigidly thereon a medially and vertically slotted bracket 26 in which is journaled on a horizontal journal pin 27 a finger 28. This fin er presents a forward notched end 29. is in its normal or lower position shown in Fig. 3 and the feeler slide is reciprocated forwardly the finger passes beneath the end of a controller 30. This controller is vertically ivoted at 31 on the breast beam and held in rearward position by a suitable spring 32.

en the finger If, however, the finger 28 be swung on the pivot 27 to raise its forward end 29 it will catch upon the end of the controller 30, upon the rearward reciprocation of the feeler slide and swing the controller rearwardly. In the construction as arranged when this operation takes place. the controller 30 riding in the cam slotted ear 33 of the transmitter 34 fulcrumed at 35 on the breast beam will rock the transmitter and cause it to elevate the latch 9' into the path of the weft hammer 11 and thus actuate the filling replenishing mechanism.

The rocking of the finger 28 is effected by I the member which carries the penetratingv 1 points. This member isshown as a skeleton plate 36 mounted to slide in the box-like casingat the rear end of the feeler slide and limited in its extreme movements by pins 37. This plate 36 is narrowed at itsforward end and projects from the box-like casing into the slotted portion of the bracket 26' At its forward end it cooperates. with a longitudinally adjustable portion of the finger 28 herein shown as a plate 38 held in adjusted position by set screws 39. A helical spring 40 is located between the plate 22 and a rearwardly projecting end 41 of the finger" 28 and acts to maintain the finger in its normal or lowered position. The member 36 car-' ries at its rearward edge a plurality of rearwardly projecting penetrating points 42, 43, 44 and 45. The number may vary but four such points are herein shown. These points are arranged in two "rows verticall separated the upper row being constituted points, 43 and 45 and the lower row by the by the Tim points 42 and 44. Furthermore, the arrangement of these points is a staggered relation so that the points in the upper row alternate in horizontal position with the points in the lower row. Again it will be noted that the points are sufiiciently separated laterally or in the direction of the length of the filling carrier that they extend over a considerable distance longitudinally of the filling carrier. The corners 46 of the feeler slide and easing are also rounded off so that there will be no danger of an augularly mis-positioned filling carrier being held out of contact with the endmost penetrating points by the filling slide. I v

In the operation of the mechanism as'the lay beats up the feeler slide enters the usual slots in the shuttle box and wall of the shuttle and the end of the feeler slide comes in contact with the mass of fillin on the filling carrier. At each beat up t e impinging face 25 contacts with the exterior of the mass of filling and the penetrating points enter the mass of filling. During thls operation the parts are positioned as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing and as the penetrating points enter the mass of filling no operation of the finger 28 takes place but the feeler slide simply moves forwardly with the lay. This operation continues until the filling on the filling carrier is substantially exhausted when upon the next beat up one or more of the penetrating points will come into contact with the hard exterior surface of the body of the filling carrier and, as the beat up continues, the filling carrier pressing against the penetrating points pushes the slidable plate or member 36 until it in turn presses against the plate 38 and thus swings the finger 28 into elevated position whereupon the end 29 catches against the controller 30 and, as the beat u continues, the feeler slide moves forwar ly and efiects through the mechanism already described the initiation of filling replenishment.

Owing to the location and position of the penetratlng points it will be seen that even if the filling carrier is for any reason somewhat above or below its normal position it will still come into contact with one or the other of the vertically spaced rows of penetrating points and so also if the filling carrier is somewhat an'gularly mis-positioned in ing carrier and at such a point on its surface.

as properly to indicate substantial exhaustion. It will be observed that if the feeler is operated accurately the penetrating point effecting its operation must contact with the filling carrier at some point substantially along that element of the cylindrical surface of the filling carrier line in an axial plane coinciding with the axis of the feeler reciprocation. This will be substantially secured by the present invention notwithstanding reasonable variations in vertical position and angular relation of the filling carrier with respect to the feeler.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A feeler motion for looms comprising a feeler slide having an impingin -face, a member slidable therein and provided with an upper row and a lower row of spaced rearwardly projecting penetrating points, the ends of the feeler slide at the impinging face being rounded off to permit the endmost penetrating points to engage an angularly mis-positioned' filling carrier, and means for effectin initiation of fillin replenishment upon forward movement of said slida ble member with respect to the feeler slide, whereby, irrespective of the precise angular or vertical position of the filling ALONZO E. RHOADESQ 

